


Among The Kelp

by FruitSnack2



Category: Undertale (Video Game)
Genre: Angst, Bad Puns, Blood, Drinking, Fish slapping, Fluff, Fluff and Angst, Lacerations, Meaningful conversations, Mermaid!Sans, Not Lovers, Pirates, Star Gazing, Undertale Mermaid AU, classic sea dog banter, dead mermaids, deep talks, ex-pirate, glitch's favourite hobby is wind surfing, he literally throws a fish at her when they first meet, he loves her hammock, he's terrified at first but then loves it, heavy mentions of strangling/struggling, i love mermaids aha, mermaid au, not a love relationship, ocean littering, pirate!glitch, puns, rotting body(ies), sans doesn't have a good time, sans x glitch, she drags him along, she has a really comfy hammock, sirons, suffocation, the tags are not in order im sorry, there's a lot of sass and sarcasm when these two interact, they become best friends over time, they grow very fond of each other, this is why you don't dump trash in the ocean
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2020-12-18
Updated: 2020-12-18
Packaged: 2021-03-11 05:01:42
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings, Graphic Depictions Of Violence
Chapters: 4
Words: 9,608
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/28149522
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/FruitSnack2/pseuds/FruitSnack2
Summary: Whoop! Attempt at a Mermaid AUHere's a reference to the two main characters!Pirate!Glitch and Mermaid!SansBaseline summery, Glitch is a rogue sea skele, ex-pirate crew mate, and grumpy captain of her rotten barge of a ship, and meets a very peculiar mermaid, with bad jokes and puns that makes her that much more irritated. She grows fond of him.
Relationships: Sans/Glitch, sans/OC
Kudos: 8





	1. Today Is Really Cloudy

It was a cloudy day. The sun, not having shown itself much for the last few hours, aside from that one short period at day break, hid itself away from the present day. The air had that constant, familiar smell of salt, strong as ever to the point of tasting it, and practically gluing itself to anything the scent could touch. Waves crashed along the waters and cliffs of nearby shores, strong and powerful, but graceful with its movements. No fool could question such a force of nature itself, the ocean capable of turning into its own, dangerous raging storm. Seagulls screeched in the distance, waves crashed against slippery, sharp rocks, and the gentle sea breeze brushed itself onto the shore. 

Despite the fact it was cloudy, today was a pretty good day. 

Rain had drizzled here and there throughout the day, a very light sprinkle to match the greyed out sky, barely managing to dampen the sails on a sailing ship. The speed at which the ship flowed seemed to be fast enough to dry the drizzles before the rain had a chance to get them properly wet, as it sailed gently towards a nearby port. The noise bustling on the land was barely audible from the ships parked at the furthest points of the port, which is exactly where a certain captain was headed. 

Steering the ship, the captain made for a turn, ever so slightly to the left, before leaping from the top deck onto the second floor. The captain made her way over to the masts, and swiftly pulled on the ropes to bring up the sails. It looked like a struggle, but the captain managed it with ease, barely putting any effort into it. With the breeze being as gentle as it was, there was very little resistance on the ropes. That, and the fact she made sure her ship was at least in a decent shape, the current state of it being a significant improvement to when she first received it. Or rather, stole it... That was her opinion anyway.

Normally, most people of the sea who owned ships had at least more than one crew member, even the small fishing boats would tend to carry at least two crewmates, but the captain of this particular ship had no interest in sharing. Not on her life. The last time she was part of a crew it had ended rather badly. Granted, her choice of selection for that crew was already questionable to begin with, but at the time she needed the quick money, and these guys seemed like the best option. The crewmates weren’t all that fond of her, but she was more than ok with that, and paid no mind to them. She mostly went about with her own thing, following the captain's orders, fishing, maintaining the ship, and plundering other ships that sailed by. There was no question, these guys were pirates. 

While she didn’t mind at first, her morals started colliding with the pirates soon after her arrival. To be fair, she didn’t have many to begin with either, but as time grew, things just started to not settle right with her, and when things started to feel wrong, the crewmates didn’t take it all too well. It gave them all the more reason to hate her. There were many arguments and riots started on the ship because of her, deliberately starting fights in an attempt to get them to leave her alone. She wasn’t fond of them either. Her time with them only lasted a short while, around 8 months or so, and while it wasn’t the best experience, it was certainly a beneficial one. She learnt many things aboard that ship, purely through hands on tasks or personal observation, she was more in tune with her surroundings then the crewmates took her to be. They weren’t the brightest people to be honest. Even a fool was able to get around them, they were that stupid at times.

Then one evening, the captain known as Reive, had decided he had enough of her shenanigans, and, while he was drunk, tried to get rid of her. Which was funny to be honest, since she and captain Reive didn’t have that rough of a relationship. Even to this day, there still weren’t really any hard feelings towards each other. Not even after the little incident. He had enough reason to hate her, seeing as she stole one of his ships, but to her surprise he didn’t mind, nor gave chase for that. Rather, at the time, he was fuming at the state of his face she left him with that night. Yeah, hitting him across the head with a nailed bat would do that. 

He came from one of the many bars in the town, drunk beyond belief, and stumbled towards the dock where his ship was parked. Amazingly, he spotted her cleaning up some of the cannons that sat on the deck, and swung a fist at her. It caught her off guard, but she still reacted, just not fast enough. He got her smack bang against the side of her skull, temporarily making her dazed. Then, she herself got up and swung at him, getting him square in the face. The two eventually brought their swords into play, and at the last minute, the rest of his crew showed up, and took that as a go to finally be rid of her, seeing as their captain was being attacked, swearing and yelling at his opponent. She noticed their quick approach, grabbed the nailed bat and swung at him with full force, temporarily knocking him out, and ran for the raised top deck. Waiting until the crewmates came, she then grabbed a rope and leaped off edge, swinging around till she hit the dock, and sprinted off as fast as she could, heading towards a lone ship that she knew Reive owned. She was faster than the others, light on her feet as always, and made quick work to get the ship sailing away. It wasn’t long till they were out of sight.

It had been several years since then. 

Now, captain of her own little ship, sailed into the dock of her favourite town, peering down into the pleasant clear waters, schools of fish swimming around and beneath her boat. This town was very different to the last one she used to reside in, now being north-east of the great ocean. She used to take residency on the western side of the sea, now having settled in this section of the ocean. There was a spot a bit-a-ways further down the coast, between the main land and a small island, she often parked her ship in, which she silently claimed, in a secluded bay known as Fallen Falls. It was a quiet, untouched area people just didn’t pay attention to. It wasn’t empty and barren in any way, having one of the most impressive waterfalls in fact, but it wasn’t exactly stellar, nothing exciting about it for a regularly sailing sea dog anyway. The town itself was known as Coral Bay, namely because of Coral Reef, not too far off the coast further up the opposite side of town, being one of the biggest and prettiest bays on this side of the ocean. 

Her ship pulled up, and she reached for a rope that was connected to her ship, quickly leaping onto the wooden deck and tied her ship down. Making sure it was secured, she jumped back on and fetched her satchel, an old bag, and a basket full of her latest catch. She was gonna be paid well for this lot. The thought of that made her smile a bit, seeing as she’d be able to afford a couple weeks worth of decent rations for once. Fishing during winter was always tough, but now that spring had just entered the scene, her luck was beginning to climb once more.

Making sure her cabin doors were locked, she then pushed over a ramp, and made her way towards the town. 

The walk itself wasn’t too bad, but as soon as people came into sight, all she could do was grumble. It was all she ever did with them. Mostly because of the fact that she wasn’t much of a people person, but sometimes it was just because she felt like it. It was basically second nature to her now. Despite this though, she didn’t pay much attention to them, giving a quick nod or grunt in response to a greeting, as polite as she could manage. Well, what she considered was polite anyway. It wasn’t unknown to the people residing here that she was grumpy most of the time, or snappy, or sassy, or sarcastic… She wasn’t the most cheery of company. People didn’t mind that though, chatting to her just the same as any other person.

She walked quietly onto the mainland, greeted by a decent crowd of people, humans and monsters alike, and an array of stalls, people selling, buying and trading all sorts of valuable goods. Or, what they considered valuable anyway. Behind said market stalls were official stores, such as bakeries, butchers and taverns. Scattered about were little cabins, and even a blacksmith sat somewhere among the scattered buildings. Turning to her right, the captain headed towards a certain stall, where an old, skinny sea man leaned over his wooden countertop, chatting away with a customer, who seemed very unimpressed. 

As the captain approached, she made sure to prepare herself mentally, taking in a deep breath, and sighed before walking into the old man's view. 

“Ah, Glitch! There she is! My favourite sea skele… What brings ya‘ere on this fine day?” The old sea dog’s face immediately lit up once spotting the short, black and white skeleton, bidding farewell to the current customer. His voice was hoarse, croaking slightly. He had no shirt, but was slightly muscular, and had simple greyed out overalls. Quite a charmer though, she had to admit.

“Afternoon Tarot…” Glitch responded bluntly, with a rather neutral face.

“That’s quite the catch ‘ya got there love.” He said, eyeing the basket as she placed it in front of the stalls counter.

“Well, the waters warming up certainly helps.”

“Yes, I suppose it does ‘ey?” Tarot leaned forward over the counter, and glanced into the basket, his eyes catching on a particularly large fish, “say there Glitch… That’s a nice big’n ya got there. Ya ain’t planning on keepin’ it are ya?”

“That’ll be extra.” Glitch raised a boney brow. 

“Done.” He said with a big smile, clearly pleased as he handed her some coins, the skeleton taking them gladly without a word. Then his gaze turned soft, with a slight hint of concern, and smiled gently. “Ya know love, if things’re still a bit tough, ya more than welcome to stay with me.”

Glitch sighed, taking the basket around the side and emptying it into a metal container, “as much as I appreciate the offer, I’m honestly fine. Besides, I prefer sleepin’ on the waters.” She leaned against the side of the stall, and placed the basket down, taking in the scenery before her. He really had the best view from the shore.

He shrugged, “m’offer still stands.”

“I’ll take it into consideration.” 

She looked up as a sudden warmth hit her, the sun finally stealing an opportunity to come out, even if it was only for a moment. She breathed deeply as she felt the sea breeze, enjoying the feeling on her face. The light reflected off of her bones, making them glow, almost like a pearl. Even the dark patches that were as black as night seemed to radiate. The light also reflected the long, silver necklace that hung around her neck, and the large gold earring she bore on the right side of her skull, one of the things that never failed to baffle the old man. Come to think of it, skeletal monsters in general always baffled him.

Despite the intimidating look she had, mostly because she was a skeleton, the old man was never phased, he always seemed to enjoy her company. The skeleton before him was something he had never imagined, from the colours of her bones to the shape of her skull. There was never not an interesting thing about her in Tarot's opinion. Her bones were both black and pearlescent white, messily split down near the centre of her skull, with opposing coloured ‘tear’ marks running down her boney cheeks. The bones making up her spine, from what he could see in the opening of her shirt, and palms were also black in colour. Her skull was one whole thing, the bottom jaw not separated from the top like usual, with a mouth that could actually move. It was like a soft, malleable bone tissue, and though her jaws could in fact separate to reveal a top and bottom set of teeth, her actual mouth could never close like a humans. The same went with her eye sockets, allowing her the ability to blink and prevent foreign objects from entering. She had a light coloured shirt, baggy and flowy, as well as dark brown pants, and light brown boots that nearly came to her knees. There was a loose belt around her waist, and the long, silver coin necklace had a dragon-like skull engraved on it.

“Heh, ‘fer a skeleton, ya sure’re a quite a sight to see,” he chuckled. “Though, I’ll never understand how that stays on ya.” He scratched the top of his head, staring at the earring.

She turned her head to look at him, her eyelights glowing within those dark sockets of hers. Her right eyelight was white, and the left a bright aqua green. She had a head bandanna adorned to match it. “I’m the _only_ skeleton you know.” 

“Ya not wrong” Tarot chuckled, running his hand through his messy, light grey and brown hair.

It was true, despite there being many types of monster species, it wasn’t very common to see the skeletal ones. She had come across others while sailing, or by dropping in at a local tavern, but most of the time they kept to themselves, or were too drunk with a nasty attitude to accompany it. Some skeletons didn’t even resemble humans, some had a more animalistic look, like various species of certain monsters. Glitch was the only one Tarot had seen, and frankly, knew personally, so that was good enough for him.

After a few moments of silence, Glitch sighed again as she picked up the empty basket, giving Tarot a nod and one of her, very rare, genuine smiles. “Use your imagination,” referencing his earlier confusion with the earring. 

“Ya monster’s an’ ‘yer magic, power stuff!” He mocked playfully.

“See ya.”

Without looking back, Glitch made her way back towards her sturdy ship. It was a decent size, not overly huge, but not small like a fishing boat. It had the main deck, a raised deck for the helm, and a lower deck underneath the main deck. It creaked and groaned, but it simply added to the ship's aesthetic. She loved how it rocked and bobbed in the waters, the appeal of hearing wood creak under the weight of her feet. 

Placing the basket down in it’s usual spot in the corner, she quickly slipped inside the main cabin and into the lower deck, before reappearing with a small bottle and headed back towards town. She still had some business to get to, but a good, hot lunch was called for first.

With that in mind, the skeleton walked among the crowds, this time turning to the left, and slipped between the stalls and buildings until she reached her destination. Waiting for people to finish exiting, and with a push of the door, she entered the local tavern.


	2. Banter In A Bar

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Errand's are run, and some banter is exchanged
> 
> Shorter chapter!

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> welp, I'm not the best with interactions :')
> 
> enjoy!

The room was dimly lit, quiet conversations from nearby booths and tables scattered around the tavern could be heard. It was a rather chill setting, a somewhat friendly and relaxed aura for the afternoon. Soft, quiet music from a nearby stage played by some of the locals rang throughout the tavern, a few of the listeners turning their heads to simply watch as they played. It was one those afternoons, but by the time evening came through people knew that would very quickly change. Once nightfall had settled, the people in town would gather and start being boisterous over dinner, the music would be louder, somewhat more charismatic, and the general atmosphere would become heavy with laughter and jokes. Hence why some people preferred to come by in the morning or afternoon when it was generally quieter.

A single table sat near a window, where the skeleton had decided to make herself at home. She sat quietly, watching the gentle rain that had now started properly splatter against the window. She always enjoyed watching it, it seemed like a hobby of hers. An empty bowl sat in front of her across the table, and she had a leg kicked up onto her chair, her knee inches from the bottom of her jaw. The stew she had ordered beforehand warmed her up, even more so than when she had first entered the tavern, a wave of warm air greeting her and the smell of hot food wafting into her nose cavity, instantly making her relax. She was content with the food brought out to her, her stomach growling at the sight despite her lack of guts.

She stared out into the street before movement caught her attention, her head only turning slightly as her eyelights swivelled around to the approaching figure. A woman walked over to her table, a long messy brown apron draped in front of her, covering her corset and partially slim pants, and a pine glass in one of her hands. 

“Here ya go love,” She said as she placed the rum on the table before reaching for the bowl, pushing it aside. There was a slight accent in her raspy voice. “Heading out again soon, I take it?” 

“Yea, I thought I’d stop by though. Needed a few supplies anyway.” Glitch responded bluntly, though not unfriendly. Her eyelights returned to the window, but she could see in her peripheral vision the woman had jumped up to sit on the edge of the table. 

“Pity, I always look forward to your visits. It’s been a while since your last one…” She paused for a moment before pulling out a small pad and pencil, scribbling down something for herself. The tavern wasn’t too busy, and the other waiters were handling customers. “Don’t mind if I join ya do ya?” Though it was a question, it felt more like a statement.

“Not at all,” Glitch glared slightly, a hint of sarcasm in her response, but the woman simply ignored it. 

“Welcoming as always.” She muttered to herself, a slightly mischievous grin on her features. “You should try smiling while you do that, could benefit ya someday. People might actually like ya y’know.”

Glitch now turned her head to face her, raising a brow, but couldn’t stop the small smile now forming on the corner of her mouth. “Please, spare me of your mockery Esmerelda.”  
  
Esmerelda raised her hand to her chest, her mouth gaping slightly in an exaggerated gasp. “Oh!? Me? Mocking you? Whatever gave you _that_ idea?” She then turned her head away. “I’m offended.”

“I’m sure your mirror is too.” 

The waitress whipped her head around at that, Glitch now smirking cheekily. Esmerelda then posed dramatically, throwing the back of her hand onto her forehand. “My heart! My feelings! How could one even begin to describe the pain on which you’ve bestowed upon me!”

“By looking at the broken glass ya rotten deck sweeper.” Glitch simply responded, downing some of the rum from her pint. “Besides, could anyone be of competition when you’re around?”

“Say’s the pile of bones sitting across from me,” She grinned, “For someone lackin’ ‘em, ya got guts ya scumbag.”

“ _No_ , I couldn’t possibly. I’m a skeleton, remember?” She gave her an unamused look, trying to get rid of her smile as she raised her bony brow again, “No _body_ can tell me otherwise.”

Esmerelda groaned, but it turned into a chuckle, “Pfft! Well, if ya ask me, I’d say you’re not as _heartless_ as you seem.” She smirked again, to which Glitch only sighed.

“Ya got me there, but throw me a bone Mel? I got a reputation to keep up.” The skeleton's half witted response only made the woman stare.  
  
Esmerelda scoffed, “yea, like I’d be able to ruin that.” She then slid off the table, taking the bowl and now empty pint from the skeleton. “Besides, where’s the fun in that?”

Glitch simply shrugged, her gaze turning back to the window. “Wouldn’t be the first to try.” With that, the woman bid her farewell, and she sat there for a little while longer, allowing the soft light of the afternoon filtering through the window dim down until she could see the lanterns on the street begin to light, signifying that it was nearing the evening. They always lit them early here for some reason.

Glitch then stood, stretching a bit before grabbing her satchel, the bottle she grabbed earlier, and her free bag, making her way to the tavern’s bar counter. “Ey Henry. Give this to Mel would ya?” She said as she placed it on the counter, having forgotten about it despite just talking with the waitress earlier. A scaly monster looked at her, then at the bottle and simply nodded, striding over swiftly and taking it, putting it in a secure spot beneath the counter and out of view.

The skeleton then made her way out, exiting the door and making her way towards the various stores in the town. She found that the last things in stores towards the end of the day were cheaper, and took full advantage of it. She also headed to some of the markets along the shore, snagging a few items before walking back to the docks. It was still raining slightly, but she didn’t mind. It’s not like much of it would get under her skin anyway.

She took a moment to stare out onto the waters as more boats, ships of all sizes started to pull into the port. Bits of the sun reflecting off the waters with a mixture of warm and cool colours, the darkness of the rain clouds complimenting the sudden bright outlines and colours of the sun's rays. The waters sparkled where the sun hit, reflecting the sky momentarily when it showed itself. Glitch let herself smile, the sight of it bringing a sense of calmness to her.

Turning on her heel, she stepped onto her ship, the wet wooden deck groaning beneath her weight. Pulling out a key from a pocket, she unlocked the cabin and walked in, tossing the now full bag onto a small round table a little to the left of the center of the cabin. Kicking off her boots, she then strode back outside barefooted, to undo the ropes that held her ship down, and pulled up the plank that allowed her to cross. With a sigh, she released one of the sails and climbed the stairs onto the raised deck, taking a hold of the helm to steer her ship away from the dock. It rocked a little from the gentle waves, but the breeze was enough to get the ship moving as she guided it to her little hidden cove. Once on course, she jumped down and started lighting some of the lanterns on her ship before it got too dark to do so.

The sail itself was pleasant, a couple of seagulls perched themselves on the edge of the railing from time to time, only to lift off when the ship bounced too much to their liking thanks to the waves. She also took note that the rain had also ceased by now. It took another 3 hours before she’d reach the cove, by which it would turn dark, so she occupied herself by putting away her newly bought supplies and tidying up the main deck. She also forced herself to rinse out the basket she used for storing freshly caught fish, as the last time she neglected it the basket had started rotting, and somehow decayed to the point when she lifted it the bottom just fell off, fish tumbling out everywhere, and some of the freshly caught ones even flinging themselves back into the ocean. That was not a fun day, especially with the clean-up afterwards.

She hummed a tune to herself as she did her tasks, making sure everything was in check before allowing herself to rest. A hammock had been hung up between the two front masts, where she planted herself comfortably for the rest of her journey, eventually reaching out for one of her instruments nearby. One was a violin, another a small guitar, a trombone, and the last was a flute, all of which she kept in good condition. She hummed as she played, watching the waters and the setting sun until the sky had completely darkened and she’d arrived at her destination.


	3. Not The Usual Night While Wind Surfing

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> She goes out on a favourite nightly surf, and finds herself saving someone... well, more specifically, a mermaid.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I'm learning as I go :)
> 
> enjoy!

The clouds were still present, the moon's light barely making it past the thick coat in the sky. The wind had picked up a bit too, most likely a storm that was on the way. Carefully, she guided her ship into Fallen Falls, the huge secluded cove guaranteeing to provide a safe cover should a storm pass through. Though the tides would rise, any huge waves would be thrown against the shores on the other side of the island, and wouldn’t be able to reach where her ship was in the cove from the mainland's beach. She considered herself lucky to have found this place, despite that it wasn’t unknown. If anything she was surprised no one bothered with it. Perhaps it was because of the fact it used to home sirens in the collapsed cave where the waterfall fell from. There were plenty of stories of this place, but it was beyond her for their reasoning of staying away. Besides, any known sirens in this place were long gone by now based on her frequent visits.

Throwing over the ships make-shift anchor to keep it in place, she then rolled up the main masts sail for the night, and the ship proceeded to gently bob up and down. The wind patted her face, and she considered for a moment on whether or not to go wind-surfing, one of her favourite down-time activities. Her only reasoning was for the fact it was quite dark with the clouds, which could be quite dangerous from experience. The constructed board had been in the lower deck when she first stole the ship, and was very glad she didn’t throw it away, her curiosity getting the best of her to patch it up instead. It was rough when she first tested it, a sudden gust of wind throwing her off balance and tossing her into the water, but after many attempts she finally got the hang of it. People would give her stares as she glided along the waters near shore, yelling profusely at the thrill of it. She absolutely loved windsurfing since then. She even considered herself a pro after a while, since it wasn’t an activity she usually saw people doing.

Glitch opted against it, deciding it would be better until she could properly see, at least until the moon showed itself and was going to stay for a bit. 

Instead, she walked into the cabin below the raised deck, going through the cupboards to find something to eat. Pulling out a few pieces of jerky, nothing too special, she then went into the lower deck, going through each of the rooms to find something to do. She had to admit, despite the love for a lack of company, it also meant she had a lot of time to herself. Most of which she’d just spend lounging around, fishing and maintaining the ship. 

Eventually she ended up in the storage room, glancing around and spotting her fishing rods and the board for wind-surfing. Glitched just stared for a moment, before shrugging and trudging forward, collecting both items. There was no harm in it after all. Bunching the items together, she lifted the items with ease and headed back out towards the main deck, barely ducking beneath the storage doorway on her way out. She was fairly strong for a skeleton, and certainly a lot stronger than people took her to be, giving out more than her fair share of knockouts and broken bones to those who picked the wrong fight. It was amusing at best. 

Placing the items on the deck, she then wandered over to the edge of the boat and peered over the edge. The wind was stronger now, but the clouds had seemed to move a bit. A couple of throws from the fishing line and she’d be clear to head out on the waters. Nodding to herself, she proceeded to prepare her fishing line, it wouldn’t hurt to try the rod instead of the massive net, which was her usual method during the day. Snagging a bucket near the crates, she attached bait to the end of her hook, and took a seat on the edge of her railing. She didn’t need to toss it very far. The line had a weight on the end of it, there wasn’t much seaweed floating on the top, and the kelp on the seafloor was beneath and behind her from where she sat.

A couple of tugs, and only one successful catch after a few throws, the moon's light now shone on the waters, the wind itself not changing much however. Glancing across the dancing waves, she took the opportunity to head out, seeing as she wasn’t tired yet. Reeling her line in, the skeleton then made her way to the wind surfing board, carefully putting the rod away and making sure the contraption was set up and good to go. There was one time she hadn’t noticed a tear in the sheet, and after a sharp turn with the wind the thing ripped, tossing her into the blue depths. It took forever to get that replaced. She was lucky that the wooden bar inside hadn’t snapped as she fell in.

Taking a peek over her shoulder, she then hoisted the board over the edge of her boat, which wasn’t far from the water's surface. She didn’t bother changing out of her current outfit however, still being barefooted, despite knowing that she was going to get wet while surfing. Even if she didn’t somehow get sprayed, Glitch didn’t mind her current clothing getting wet in the slightest, thoroughly enjoying the sickly salty, yet sweet smell of the ocean on her clothes. It reminded her of where home really was. 

Stepping carefully over the edge of the slightly rocking ship, she lowered herself onto the board, getting a firm hold of the board's handrail before letting go of the ship. Steadying herself, she allowed herself to drift away, before turning the board slightly so the sail could catch the wind.

In an instant, she suddenly flew forward, catching the perfect angle to race off towards the main ocean, skimming the water's surface between the island and the mainland. Before she knew it, she was on open waters, the light of the moon guiding her as she sailed, melting to the feel of the wind on her face. She embraced the speed, welcoming the thrilling feeling of wind surfing at night. It somehow made it more daring to her, the pulse of her soul thrumming against her chest from the adrenaline. She loved it. 

Glitch could feel her magic seeping into her hands as she gripped the rail tightly, her coloured eyelight flaring a little from the excitement. Wind rushed past her, her head bandanna’s loose ends flapping wildly behind her, earring flailing about while her baggy clothes shook viciously. Sea water sprayed onto her face, her eyes narrowed in anticipation. 

After about half an hour of top speed sailing along the shore, she started heading into a foggy section of the sea, clouded by a mist that seemed to rise from the ocean itself. It reeked of death and screamed danger. It was her cue to turn around, the place didn’t radiate with the sensation of ‘get out’ for no reason. It was home to a band of sirens, the water dwelling ones that used their voices to lure people to an unfortunate death. Turning sharply, the board whipped around, going slightly airborne for a moment, though she used the help of her gravity magic to stabilise it. Soon enough, she was on her way back, although now with the wind against her, the pace was much slower than before. 

Slowly, she drifted back along the shoreline, seeing no fishing boats or canoes that would’ve been beached for safety. About 20 minutes in of her slow drifting, Glitch peered into a smaller pier that came into view which she’d avoided earlier, and was connected to the sandy beach, the distance being significantly shorter compared to the ones near the town she visited earlier. It was hardly twenty meters in total if that, the waters here dropping deeply like a sloped cliff. There was only 1 pier between the sirens home and Fallen Falls, so she took an opportunity to inspect it on the way back. Though she had passed here many a time, Glitch hadn’t really noticed it before. She just sorta dismissed it.

The dock itself was a mess, it was clear no one resided here, so it was never cared for. A small, old rotting boat partially filled with water sat next to the edge of the dock, where ropes, nets and wires had formed a chaotic mess. The pile itself was huge, the tangled pieces spaced out on the dock, the boat, and into the water itself, and fairly deeply too. It was disgusting to say the least. The idea that people probably used to fish here was beyond her. It made her pity any sea creature that ventured there accidentally for food that’d been caught in the mess. 

Glitch herself had rescued a few dolphins from chaotic messes like this one, and even a mermaid or two. The poor things had gotten themselves tangled while trying to free something else. It reminded her of how people willingly didn’t dispose of things properly, throwing away old and unused materials into the waters. Most of this was probably dumped here deliberately, and that’s excluding the general waste from the ocean drifting in. A lot of it looked recent too.

As she drifted by, she thought she might have seen something moving in the depths, and as she turned her board to get closer, her suspicions had been right. Something was frantically moving beneath the water's surface. At this point she could only sigh, clearly not wanting to do this for yet another time, a look of displeasure and irritation spreading on her boney face. Glitch guided the board to shore, not wanting it to get tangled with the mass that was horrifyingly massive, before making her way to the dock. She walked across the wooden deck, listening to it groan with age. It was bound to collapse at some point in the future. Stepping over, and onto the tangled mess at the end of the pier, she peeked into the water, the creature still thrashing around partially under the boat. It was emitting a slight glow, which was odd. 

With a concerned look, she knelt down and began pulling on the tangled mass, trying to get the creature to come to the surface. It proved almost useless though, as the creature kept thrashing about, if not harder now. Pulling out a small knife with a sigh, she began cutting at some of the mess, feeling the material starting to loosen, working as quickly as she could. She called out to whatever was under the water, hoping that it could hear her.

Suddenly the figure swivelled around, and a hand shot up from the water. It gripped the edge of the boat, trying to pull itself up, and Glitch could now make out a face from under the murky water. Her non-existed gut dropped, eyelights shrinking to tiny pinpricks. 

Someone was drowning. 

Panic suddenly flooded in her, and Glitch frantically started to pull on the tangled ropes and nets, cutting them as fast as she could. “Hold on! I’ll get you out!” She screamed.

The figure was now working with her, pulling themselves up towards the surface desperately. After a sudden snap, the figure lurched up, bursting from the surface and throwing themselves over the side of the boat, a hand reaching out towards the edge of the dock where she knelt. Without a second thought, she grabbed them and hauled them up, their top half now resting on the dock as she cut away at the ropes. 

That’s when she noticed something about them, and she couldn’t help but pause momentarily. She stared at the glow in front of her that was coming off of them, a single, seemingly long, and thick appendage attached. It was a tail. She was rescuing another mermaid. 

That wasn’t what caught her off guard however, as she glanced up at the top half of their body. She had barely noticed in her panicked state.

It was a skeleton.


	4. A Fishy Turn Of Events

It was dark, but that was to be expected.

The further he swam from the depths of the ocean, and seeing the light disappear from the sky above was enough to tell him that it was turning night. At some point he swam close enough to the surface to get a glimpse of the dazzling colours from the setting sun, beautiful rays shining into the clear waters around him. 

It was certainly one of the prettiest bays Sans had visited in a long time.

Making the decision to move to this side of the sea with his brother was certainly a wise choice. The people, which they called surface dwellers, here didn’t seem to take as much interest in the merfolk that resided in these parts, if anything treating them as one of their own, as secluded as they made themselves regardless. Well, not the killing interest anyway. Most of those kinds were pirates, greedy as always when it came to merfolk like himself. He himself had a few run-ins with pirates such as them, immediately taking interest in his peculiar tail. He was very proud of it, as all merfolk were with their tails, but he had a few tricks up his sleeve in order to get past them. He was eternally grateful for his magic.

The surface dwellers here however were more friendly towards them, or at the very least tolerant of his kind when they did come face to face. Although it didn’t change his slight dislike of them however, remaining neutral whenever he came across one, but preferring to outright avoid them where possible. Which was understandable, most merfolk were like the water versions of faes and pixies. Tricksters and troublesome pranksters. It didn’t seem uncommon here for them to interact, unlike a certain section in the south-western sea where it was mostly roamed by pirates.

Where he and brother used to live. 

It’d been a few years however since they migrated to new sections of the sea, finally settling in this section of the ocean. The waters here were generally warmer, there were many islands and bays scattered around, reefs of all sizes and even ruins here and there. There were many kelp forests too, most of which surrounded the reefs and ruins deep beneath the surface. The north eastern part was huge as well, so there wasn’t any need to fight for territory either. The merfolk in these parts were not desperate like the ones he used to live among. If anything they were quite inviting of their homes. They were rather open and chill, but still somewhat cautious of newcomers like himself when they first arrived. It didn’t take long to be accepted though. 

With so much ocean to explore, he and his brother resided here as soon as they found it, and about a year or so later, his brother Papyrus, ended up finding a mate. Things were a lot better for them. Especially since they weren’t normal merfolk. They were monster merfolk, skeletons to be exact. Their anatomy was enough to put anyone off, which explained why the resided typical merfolk here were cautious of their arrival, but soon enough they were welcomed by other monster merfolk, and the normal ones followed suit. 

Their tails, so to speak, were not like regular tails. They were transparent, almost invisible at some points so you could see the skeleton making it up inside it. However there were edges that outlined the form of the tail, which was physical enough to touch, and the outlines emitted a gentle, soft glow. The ‘glow’ itself also went partially up over the bottom section of their rib cages, including the bottom part of the sternum, as though to represent the layer of ‘skin’ they’d have if they were fleshed merfolk. This proved useful when it got dark, and at times a disadvantage from predators. Once Sans was aware of the danger however, he was able to dim the glow, keeping him relatively safe in the dark as he became barely visible in the pitch black depths.

The shape of his tail was a peculiar one however, which drew the eyes of many merfolk, or other sea monsters he passed by. His wasn’t a typical fish shape like one would expect. Sans' tail took off the shape of a leafy sea dragon, which he had gotten from his mother. His tail radiated a soft light blue, almost cyan, with faded yellow tips on the ends of his fins. He was proud of how his tail looked, and it was certainly beautiful to those who admired it. While he wasn’t the fastest next to the speed of most merfolk thanks to it, his vibrant colours and the shape of it was mostly used as a defensive mechanism, which proved very effective. He would deliberately enhance the glow to emphasize his warnings, as he’d rather not have to run nor fight, but he’d make it very clear that he wasn’t defenceless and ‘easy prey’ as he looked. 

Sans also wanted to avoid teleporting unless absolutely necessary, considering how much it drained him.

The skeleton was actually quite vicious and protective when he needed to be. However, that was something that very rarely happened, and most of the time he gave off a carefree, lazy and laid back vibe. He preferred to drift around lazily anyway, much to his brother's dismay. His bad jokes were also enough to drive Papyrus mad some days. He had a knack for puns. 

His younger brother on the other hand was more what you’d expect, thanks to their father, and longer thanks to the fact on how much bigger he grew. Papyrus’s tail had a beautiful orange and blue tipped glow, with extra flowy fins that ran along the upper sides, along the ridge of his back down to the bottom of his tail, and partially along the sides underneath. The fins themselves nearly resembled flowing kelp, with the ones at the hip line having some shape to them like his own, some doubling up in layers. The fins on the end of his tail were also double layered, and travelled up along the tail at least a third of the way. This look was partially, almost an even mixture of his parents, whereas Sans took off mostly from his mother. When he thought about it, they were lucky that both of their parents happened to be skeletons.

Now, Sans was exploring further parts of this side of the sea, making sure to stay away from any ships that roamed the surface. It was slightly aggravating that there seemed to be more of them in this particular area, but at least they were mostly small fishing boats, which were easy enough to avoid. He guessed there were many towns around on the islands and main lands that were scattered about. 

He’d been swimming for what felt like forever, thanks to the fact he’d been mostly drifting, and taking the time to get to know the area, as he knew he wouldn’t be home for a while. Papyrus wasn’t too pleased when Sans had brought up the idea of exploring by himself, but he reassured him that he'd be fine. Perhaps he’d find his own mate? Or a cave ruin that concealed many treasures from the surface. Not that he had too much interest, but he was starting to get bored of staying in the old ruins they resided in all the time. Besides, there was so much sea to explore, and why not look for an official place that he could go to enjoy his most desired hobby? 

Star gazing.

It was his absolute favourite downtime. And if he could find a quiet, secluded area to do just that, then he’d be content till the end of his days. The skies were so clear at times here during the night, the beautiful, glowing specks glittering across the dark mass. He’d barely been there a day when he first arrived and could already tell that the waters would be calmer during nightfall, allowing him to visit frequently. Since then he would swim to the surface to watch them, lazily lounging on the water's surface. That being said, he wanted somewhere private he could go to just sit and enjoy them, perhaps a pool or a cove. A place here he could sit for hours staring. Despite that he had been here for a few years now, Sans had been too lazy to actually go out to find his own little space until now.

The reality is that he’d only been gone for a few hours since first leaving on his little expedition, despite that it felt like forever. He took care to leave in the late evening, so that he could determine the best spot when night actually fell. It was an added bonus to see the stars while he looked around, although tonight most of them were covered by clouds. He frowned in disappointment at that. Now that it was dark, everything seemed quiet and motionless as he gazed into the deep blue. It had an almost unsettling feeling to it. The wind had picked up tonight as well however, the breeze chilling his bones each time he broke the water's surface. Not very pleasant. 

At least the clouds had moved on for a bit now.

As time passed, after drifting through a small chain of islands here and there, Sans finally managed to make it to an area of mainland that seemed uninhabited, and no signs of ships passing through either. However, he could guess why as there was a section he swam close to that seemed very off putting. Those waters seemed darker, and unpleasantly murky. It screamed death. It hadn’t taken him long to identify that the territory belonged to sirens. The more carnivorous, somewhat dangerous, and though not always unreasonable counterpart of their species, beside the outright, atrocious killers that were sea maidens. He didn’t exactly feel like dealing with them today, already feeling hidden glares his way when he accidentally got a little too close for his own liking. 

He noted this for himself. 

Swimming further down the shoreline, peeking at the surface here and there to see if there were any spots of interest, he noticed a low whizzing sound, like something skimming the surface of the waters. It hummed quietly at first, before dramatically increasing in sound. He thought he could hear bursts of laughter with it. His curiosity peaked, unsure of who in their right mind would be out here at this time of night. His senses were telling him to back off, but he wasn’t familiar with the whizzing sound, and wanted to know what exactly it was. 

Bad move.

As soon as he broke the surface, something suddenly flew straight towards him. Had he been a second longer, ducking back under and throwing himself out of the way, the strange object would have slammed straight into him. It would’ve dusted him instantly. His non-existent heart racing, and soul pumping furiously of the sudden encounter, Sans gave himself a moment to recover before going back to the surface. His face was contorted into one of horror, terror and confusion all at once. Whatever that was clearly hadn’t seen him. It quickly zoomed out of sight, and from what he could make of it, it seemed to be a board of some sort, with a single sail attached. Someone was also riding it, which explained the laughter he heard.

As soon as they became a blur, he let out a breath he’d been holding, and continued on. There was a slight pang of guilt for a moment knowing that if they kept going, they were gonna end up in the fog further up and meet an unfortunate fate in those murky waters, but he quickly shrugged it off. 

Drifting for another half an hour, and thankfully, no more near death encounters, he spotted what looked like a small jetty in the distance. He could do with a rest. As he came closer, he noticed an odd smell coming off it, and it made his non-existent gut turn slightly. Something was wrong. His thoughts were briefly disturbed though, at the sight of an old, but rather large looking fish. Sans felt the familiar sense of hunger.

Eye sockets narrowing slightly with intense focus, and eyelights shrinking a bit, dimming as they did so, he began stalking the fish. It didn’t seem to pick up on this. He forced the glow of his tail to dim slightly as well, just for good measure. Creeping closer, he slowly closed the distance between the two. The fish however, saw him at the last second, and shot off in a hurry. Sans sped after it, mouth parting a little bit in a small snarl that he slipped up, especially when he was close to snagging it. He chased it for a bit, soon panting from the effort. 

When it got further away, he was about to summon a bone to throw in an attempt to kill it, but suddenly stopped in his tracks instead. Hand still posed, all he could do was stare. The fish he’d chased had unknowingly led him towards the pier, and the smell was far more obvious now. He forced himself not to gag. His body was somewhat tense, and alert. Slowly, he drifted closer to inspect the area. Something felt very wrong now. 

The sight now before him made his boney face scrunch up in disgust. It was a gross, chaotic mess of old and broken materials, mostly fishing wires, nets and ropes. The amount that was there was beyond him, not only did it obscure and take up most of the water around the jetty, it was partially on a small fishing boat sitting next to it, and on top of the pier itself. He couldn’t be more horrified, and he certainly wasn’t expecting it. Or, at least he thought so anyway. Coming as close as he could, so as to not get tangled in the mass, as there was sure to be invisible fishing lines drifting around openly, he peeked into a particularly dark mass that was beneath, but on the opposite side of the boat, and partially under the dock.

His eyelights shrank. Sans figurative gut dropped, his entire body suddenly frozen now. He was staring at a mermaid. 

Heart leaping out of his chest, he called out to the seemingly lifeless figure, only to get no response. That would explain the smell. That being said, there could’ve been something else in the mess, and he wanted to check if the mermaid was simply unconscious. It wasn’t that rare of a case when things like this happened, he was surprised people weren’t aware of this. He’d have to be really careful. Summoning a sharp bone, he began cutting away at the weaker material, however it didn’t last long. A lot of the stronger material had thin metal wires embedded into it, so he was forced to simply pull it apart as best he could, untangling the mess without getting caught in it himself. That would end badly, considering he had several extra appendages sticking out of him that could easily join the tangled fray. 

When he got close enough, he couldn’t help but feel horrified, yet sympathising accompanied with the sense of wasted effort. The body had in fact started decaying. He wasn’t able to get a good look before thanks to the array of chaos around the mermaid, and the shadows of the boat and pier, but now the features were somewhat distinct in the dark, murky waters. By the looks of it, her tail resembled something of an orca, the black and white markings trailing from head to tail. She also looked young, like a teenager. The bones in her now frail body were defined, face petrified from suffocation. She looked like a drowned, starving zombie. 

Sans felt like he was gonna puke, this wasn’t a pleasant sight. It took a bit to regain his focus and compose himself. He needed to leave asap. In his horrified state however, Sans hadn’t noticed the waves pulling him closer, the tangled mass overlapping onto his own tail. It was only until he tried to turn around did he feel a tug. His eyelights completely disappeared. Panic surged in his chest, and frantically reached for the tangled mess now wrapped around his tail. He struggled to get them off, but in doing so, the waves bashed him towards the boat, and more started to tangle around his leafy limbs. This couldn’t be happening.

Before he knew it, he was screaming for help, yelling as loud as he could as he flailed about hopelessly. The chaotic mess now strangling him in a tight hug, he could feel some of thinner lines cutting into his tail and arms, bleeding ever so lightly in a couple of areas. This was not good. He needed to grab someone, or anyone’s attention at this point, regardless if it was a surface dweller or sea roamer. Sans squirmed as he tried to flick his tail to the water's surface, thrashing and throwing himself around while trying to break free. It wasn’t working. The waves had partially pulled him under the boat now as well, it’s slippery sides providing no aid in the situation. 

The realisation that this could be his last dawned on him for a moment. 

He didn’t like that.

Sans was determined now, adrenaline from his panic helping with his motivation on escaping. He wasn’t gonna leave Papyrus just yet. In the fray of his panicked, flailing state however, along with the tangled mess obscuring some of his vision, he hadn't noticed a figure drifting closer, and eventually beaching itself not too far off to his right. As he thrashed about, he also failed to notice the wooden deck groaning as a figure walked across it. Then the tangled ropes pulled. His non-existent heart skipped a beat, and before he could register it as help he started thrashing about harder, the instinctual sense of danger writhing inside him. All he could think about was getting away. 

Then the figure called out to him. 

He stopped for a moment.

Soul pumping, he surged upwards to reach for the water's surface. A hand managed to break free, and he now tried to pull himself upwards to work with his rescuer, gripping the edge of the boat as tightly as he could. He hadn’t been this afraid in ages, his left socket flickering for a moment. When the mess around him suddenly gave way for an opening, he twisted himself sharply, giving out a final kick of his tail, which was now bleeding badly, and bursted from the surface. Throwing himself over the side of the boat, which was half filled with water, and would’ve capsized had it not been for the mattered mess holding it in place, desperately reached out a hand towards the figure kneeling on the pier. 

Hit bit back the sharp pain of fishing wires and ropes pulling against him, and nearly screamed when the figure took his outstretched hand. Thank stars they didn’t hesitate though. Sans was hauled up onto the edge of the jetty, his upper body now resting on it as the figure quickly cut away at the material wrapped around him. He couldn’t believe what was happening. Panting heavily, and bones rattling vigorously, he allowed himself to sag onto the deck, his body going limp as the mangled mess threatened to pull him back in. He barely noticed that the figure had momentarily stopped. If he had to guess, they were probably noticing his tail. 

Despite the circumstances, he allowed himself to relax a little, even if his rescuer was a surface dweller.

He didn’t care. 

He got to live for another day.


End file.
